Its our 21st birthday!
10 September 2009
Dreams do come true after all:
We have a new home!
Greetings to all our Bluesfest members,
Well folks, guess what? It's that time of year again. Bluesfest 2010 is approaching quickly, preparations are in full swing - and this time - it's going to be at our wonderful new home in Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, 10 minutes north of Byron Bay!
Its our 21st birthday!
Message from Bluesfest director Peter Noble
Doesn't the time fly? And as a great many of you know, we're hitting another major benchmark in 2010 - our 21st birthday. Wow.
So I must tell you - we're getting really excited about the bill for Easter next year. Things are coming together in very interesting and auspicious ways, so much so that 2010 is shaping up to be one of those magical years. Bring it on!
Here's what I CAN tell you so far. I have already put in more time travelling the world than ever before to organise our 21st anniversary year line-up. In fact, I was on a plane to the U.S. less than 2 weeks after Bluesfest 2009 wrapped up, meeting with an assorted group of managers, agents and artists. But don't worry folks; I took some time off after that OK?
Since then, I've also been to Europe and South East Asia,
checking out some equally amazing prospects.
Now, lean in readers. First up, this year we've decided to take some risks. When I say risks, I mean the kind of creative and exciting risks that are, in my opinion, 100% necessary to keep Bluesfest vital and dynamic.
We took a long look at some of the planet's signature festivals - New Orleans Jazz Fest among them - and recognised that this kind of risk taking philosophy is shared by some of our key peer events. In fact, when you look at our evolution over the last 20 years, there have certainly been several key decisions and risks we've taken that have taken Bluesfest to the next level, and the next, and so on.
By this I mean that I want to always continue to add new, creative and exciting ideas into Bluesfest, while retaining the values that got us here in the first place. If you don't take risks, you run the risk of stagnating, simple as that. Taking a risk is the kind of thinking that, we believe, keeps Bluesfest out there in front.
But I digress...
Here are two things to whet your palettes. Bluesfest 2010 will be considered 'the Guitar Lover's Festival from Hell!' We've got some great players lined up, we really do. We'll also most likely introduce a special evening called 'A Taste of Classic Rock'. I can't wait to tell you more about this and other developments - but trust me - it's just the beginning! Oh, and of course there'll be some of the world's best blues too.
Bluesfest is one of the world's greatest festivals!
In my travels, I was very proud to hear from several colleagues that Bluesfest is considered the most successful event of its kind outside of the U.S. and Canada, in terms of the number of people attending. There are a lot of great events out there, so for us, this is a big, big deal.
On a personal level, I feel hungrier and more dedicated than ever to continue making Bluesfest one of the world's greatest festivals. For me, for you, and for all of the extraordinary artists that travel here.
Bluesfest features the world's leading socially and environmentally aware artists!
As you may have read, we were also recently announced as an international winner in The Greener Festival Awards for 2009. This was for an impressive three years in a row, more than any other Australian festival - and a tribute to our ongoing and long-term commitment to environmental sustainability.
It's no accident that Bluesfest is known for putting the world's leading socially and environmentally aware artists on stage - and that of course HAS to be reflected by everything we do in front of the stage too!
So that's it from me for now. Sincere thanks to our ever loyal and passionate patrons. We can't wait to welcome you to Bluesfest once more over Easter 2010. Until then, be safe, well and wise.
Cheers,
Peter Noble and the Bluesfest Team